I. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a container, and more particularly to a construction for a fishing tackle box.
II. Description of the Prior Art
It has long been known to employ a tackle box to contain fishing gear such as sinkers, lines, leaders, lures, reels and the like, generally referred to as tackle. Tackle boxes often include a plurality of trays for containing such tackle. The trays are sometimes connected by a plurality of pivotable links, so that the trays are pivotable from a vertically stacked to a horizontally spread position, in which access to the contents of all of the trays can be simultaneously had. The plurality of trays can also be vertically stacked, either nestingly, or detachably connected to one another by hasp latches or the like; and either contained in the tackle box, or (in the latter case) attached to the outside of the tackle box.
While the prior tackle boxes have functioned adequately for their intended purpose, their use has entailed some drawbacks. When separate trays are employed, the trays can take up significant space if the contents of more than one tray at a time are displayed. The waste of such space is particularly a problem when the tackle box is employed in a small boat. This problem can be avoided when stacked external trays are employed, as the trays which are not of interest can be reaffixed to the tackle box while one tray is in use. Such reattachment is inconvenient, however, especially when the user is not certain which tray contains the particular piece of tackle of interest.
While this particular problem is not encountered when the tackle box employs a plurality of pivotable trays, other drawbacks are encountered when such boxes are used. Most notably, the capacity of a tackle box of fixed volume is not adjustable to match the amount of tackle needed for the particular conditions under which fishing is intended. Overfilling the box or trays results in entanglement of the pieces of tackle, making extraction of the individual tackle pieces from the box difficult, while excess capacity in the box or trays is wasteful, and needlessly increases the weight carried by the fisherman. Each of these problems is particularly onerous if the tackle box must be carried some distance to the fishing site.